1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to an image display device with an imaging unit, and more specifically, an image display device in which an imaging unit is disposed at the rear side of an image display unit.
2. Description of the Related Art
In recent years, there has been a growing interest in organic electroluminescent display devices (hereinafter, simply referred to as an “organic EL display device”) as a flat panel display device (FP display device). Currently, a liquid crystal display (LCD) is the mainstream of FP display devices. However, since the LCD is not a self-emission device, components, such as a backlight and a polarizer, are necessary. Accordingly, there is a problem in that the thickness of the FP display device increases and the brightness is not sufficient. On the other hand, the organic EL display device is a self-emission device. Accordingly, components, such as a backlight, are not necessary in principle. For this reason, the organic EL display device has many advantages over the LCD due to its slimness, high brightness, and the like. Particularly in an active matrix type organic EL display device in which a switching element is disposed in each pixel, a low current consumption can be suppressed by hold lighting of each pixel, and big-sized screens and high definition can be realized relatively easily. For this reason, such an active matrix type organic EL display device is under development in many companies, and is expected to become the mainstream of a next-generation FP display device.
Moreover, in recent years, a video conference system (TV phone system) which allows persons located in remote locations to talk to each other while watching their faces by connecting at least two sets of image display devices and imaging devices to each other through a communication line or a network has started to spread. The TV phone function can be easily realized by using a low-cost imaging device called a web camera, a personal computer, and software. In such a TV phone system, however, users talk with each other by imaging a face of the user located at one side with an imaging device, displaying the obtained image on an image display device at the other side, imaging a face of the user located at the other side with an imaging device, and displaying the obtained image on an image display device at one side. Moreover, since each user talks to the other party while watching the face of the other party displayed on his or her own image display device, his or her eyes or face faces his or her own image display device. In a known TV phone system, an imaging device is placed out of a display region of an image display device. Accordingly, user's eyes do not face the imaging device. For this reason, a user's face at one side projected on the image display device does not face a user located at the other side, which may result in a sense of discomfort. This sense of discomfort occurring due to not facing the other party is one of the causes of delaying the spread of TV phones.
Attempts to add functions other than image display to an image display device have also been made actively. For example, JP-A-2005-176151 or JP-A-2005-010407 discloses an FP display device with an imaging unit.